A Letter from a Pro-Life Democrat

February 8th, 2013

Recently, Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter, cited an interesting letter on his blog from a pro-life Democrat. Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life, wrote to Senator Jeff Klein in response to his statement on abortion.

Here is an excerpt from Ms. Day’s letter:

I am writing to respond to your comments that “real” Democrats support a woman’s right to choose. I disagree with your assessment. Opportunity for everyone, not abortion, is a core Democratic value.

There is no longer overwhelming support for abortion without restrictions and no longer overwhelming support for taxpayer funding of abortion. An increasing number of individuals are identifying themselves as pro-life — reaching over 50 percent in a recent Gallup Poll. Conversely, people identifying themselves as pro-choice has reached a record low of 41 percent according to the same May 23, 2012 poll. Further, one-third (or 21 million) Democrats self-identify as pro-life.

We, as a party, need to focus on ways to bring together Democrats on both sides of this issue and focus on what unites us — not tell people that they do not belong because they disagree on one position.

You can read the whole letter here.

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Statement on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding the HHS Mandate

February 8th, 2013

Yesterday, I issued a statement in my role as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the HHS mandate. Unfortunately, there were some news reports today that claimed the bishops “rejected” the White House proposal, ignoring the fact that we bishops said, “we welcome and will take seriously the Administration’s invitation to submit our concerns through formal comments, and we will do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all.”

Here is the press release by the USCCB along with my full statement.

 Click here to read the press release and statement.

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Reflections on Mayor Koch

February 1st, 2013

Last May, I had the honor of being introduced by Mayor Koch at the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, sponsored by the Manhattan Institute.  I was incredibly touched by the Mayor’s recollections of his relationship with my predecessors, and his kind words about me.  Re-reading these words brought a smile to my lips today as I remembered Mayor Koch.  I hope they do the same for you.

Edward I. Koch

Introduction of Timothy Cardinal Dolan

Manhattan Institute – Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner

May 21, 2012

I am now in my 88th year.  Since my entry into politics and government service, I have had the privilege of meeting, working with, and becoming friends with four cardinals of New York – Terence Cardinal Cooke, John Cardinal O’Connor, Edward Cardinal Egan and the current cardinal, whom I have the honor of introducing to you this evening, Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Before I make that introduction, allow me take a few minutes to comment on my friendships with his predecessors.

I was a congressman and then mayor when I first came to know Terence Cardinal Cooke.  Of the four cardinals I have known, he was the most beloved by the public.  He was a very gentle man and perceived early on as a saintly figure.  Indeed, Cardinal Cooke is currently being considered by the Vatican for sainthood, and I have given testimony in the Vatican’s extensive inquiry into such a designation.

Having nothing to do with his saintliness, but much to do with our friendship, I recall when Cardinal Cooke opened a Fifth Avenue door at St. Patrick’s Cathedral that had been closed for 100 years.  He asked me to stand with him when he unlocked the entrance.  As the sunlight poured through the open door, he said, “Mayor Ed, this cathedral belongs to you. ”  (I could never get him to call me Ed.  When he said “Mayor Ed,” I could hear the neighing of horses, there being a very popular television show at the time featuring a talking horse called “Mr. Ed,”) but at that moment, I did indeed feel as though the cathedral belonged to the cardinal and me.

John Cardinal O’Connor came to St. Patrick’s in 1984 after the death of Cardinal Cooke.  He was an archbishop at the time.  He invited me to go to Rome with him when he was called to receive his red hat.  (I suggest to my Jewish brothers that we adopt the same color for our yarmulkes.)  I went to Rome with him and was one of four witnesses who signed the deed bestowing upon him a Catholic Church in the City of Rome.  The signing of the deed is one of the rituals in the process of becoming a cardinal.

On another occasion, Cardinal O’Connor invited me to join him on a pilgrimage for peace to Our Lady of Knock Cathedral in Ireland.  I was delighted to go with him.

When we were in Dublin, I was asked by Tony Guida, a New York City television reporter, what I thought of the role of the British troops in Ireland.  I said, “I think they are peacemakers.”  I was running for reelection as mayor at the time.  When we disembarked at Kennedy Airport,  I followed Cardinal O’Connor off the plane and heard a reporter ask him what he thought of my characterization of the British.  He replied, “The dumbest statement I’ve heard in years.”

When I returned to City Hall my dear friend Paul Crotty, who was then my Commissioner for Housing Preservation and Development, said to me, “Mayor, how could you compare three years of being nice with 800 years of oppression?”  They were both right to chastise me.  Thankfully, the New York City Irish community ultimately forgave me.

I learned the meaning of the phrase “invincibly ignorant” as a result of my relationship with Cardinal O’Connor.  I asked Catholic friends of mine why he tolerated and never berated me for the positions I held on very controversial social issues which were at variance with his.  I was told he held the view that I, being “invincibly ignorant,” was not responsible for my views.  Catholics on the other hand, were fully responsible for their positions.  The Catholic Church, he would say, is not a “salad bar” from which Catholics may choose to accept or reject moral values and other obligations.

I loved Cardinal O’Connor as a brother.  Since his death, I have kept his funeral memorial card on my desk.  When I’m depressed, which occasionally I am, I hold the card and become reinvigorated.  Indeed, I believe holding his photo when I was in the hospital for six weeks in June of 2009 cured my spinal stenosis.  I’ve been free of pain ever since.  I told this story to President Obama’s former Chief of Staff, Bill Daley, brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago.  He asked me if he could borrow the photo.

Edward Cardinal Egan visited me in the hospital when I was in danger of dying from complications of quadruple bypass surgery.  I said to him, “Your Eminence, I’m not afraid of dying.  I’ve had a very good life, and if God now needs a good Jewish lawyer, I’m happy to go to Him.”  He replied, “Don’t worry, He’s not calling you and you’re not going.  Your rates are too high.”  He was right and here I am.

Of the three cardinals I have mentioned, Edward Cardinal Egan was the most intellectual and witty.  With a patrician glance he could disembowel a cowardly legislator, member of the clergy and anyone else who was not straight with him.

And now on to Timothy Cardinal Dolan.  He came to our city in 2009 as Archbishop of New York, and on February 18, 2012, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.  The position of Cardinal-Archbishop of New York has long been recognized as the foremost position in the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States.

Cardinal Dolan is also President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, an honor bestowed upon him by his fellow bishops in this country.  Holding that position gives his voice a special significance and authority in the U.S. and worldwide.

Those who have met the Cardinal love his affability and lack of formality.  Do not be misled by his graciousness however.  He is tough as nails and, in a way, combines all the separate strengths of the cardinals I have ascribed to those who preceded him.

Like Cardinal Cooke, he has a gentleness that makes for an immediate bonding.  Like Cardinal O’Connor, he believes it his duty to teach the faith and make clear to all Roman Catholics that the Church is not a “salad bar.”  Like Cardinal Egan, he is an intellectual who will go toe to toe with anyone and everyone in making his case on behalf of the Church and Pope Benedict XVI.

I am delighted that he and I, in a short time, have established a warm relationship.  I was truly pleased when he attended my 87th birthday party at Gracie Mansion where former commissioners and deputy mayors from my administration gather every year to celebrate the event.  When I saw him enter, I immediately rushed to welcome him and said, “Your Eminence, how can I help?”  His reply, “Show me where the bar is.”

I was overwhelmed with joy when on St. Patrick’s Day before the Mass commenced, he asked me to join him, his fellow bishops, and a half-dozen Catholic laymen (very wealthy ones I should add) to announce that the renovation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at a cost of 175 million dollars would begin.

I love St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  At the request of the cardinals with whom I became good friends, I have attended Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve for more than 40 years.  On one occasion Cardinal O’Connor announced to the congregants, “Mayor Koch is in his seat.  Let the Mass begin.”

The City of New York has been very lucky with respect to the archbishops and cardinals who have reigned here.

But one of them, to whom our new archbishop has looked for particular guidance, is Archbishop John Hughes, the first Archbishop of New York.  Archbishop Hughes was commonly referred to as “Dagger John,” because the cross that preceded his signature looked more like a dagger than a cross.  “Dagger” John also earned his name for his courage and resiliency in fighting on behalf of his flock – most notably, in founding the remarkable system of Catholic schools in New York City.

At his installation Mass in April 2009, wearing the very cross once worn by Bishop Hughes, Archbishop Dolan pledged himself to the flourishing of New York’s Catholic schools.  He has shown extraordinary leadership in the effort to prepare these schools to continue their critical mission well into the 21st century – an effort that many of you here tonight so generously support.  In this challenging time, the cause of Catholic education could not ask for a greater champion.

Let me close by saying that it is a great honor for this Jewish boy born in the Bronx to introduce a Prince of the Roman Catholic Church and call him friend.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great honor to present to you His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York.

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In Memoriam: Mayor Ed Koch

February 1st, 2013

This morning, I learned that former Mayor Ed Koch had passed away. He was a good friend of mine and a great mayor to New Yorkers.

Here is the statement that I released to the press today.

For Immediate Release: February 1, 2013

STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLAN ON THE PASSING OF FORMER MAYOR ED KOCH

As a young priest living in Saint Louis and Washington, D.C. during the 1980’s, New York meant two things to me: John Cardinal O’Connor and Mayor Ed Koch. These two men showed how, despite some deep philosophical disagreements, they could not only work together for the good of the City of New York, but could become close personal friends. Indeed, Mayor Koch was a good friend to three of my predecessors, Cardinal Cooke, Cardinal O’Connor, and Cardinal Egan, and, I am happy to have been able to consider him a friend of mine as well. It is, perhaps, some measure of the respect that Ed Koch – a proud, Jewish man, as he described himself to me – continued to hold among Catholics that a seat was always held for him at Midnight Mass in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and, at the annual Alfred E. Smith Dinner, the largest ovation invariably went not to the evening’s guest speaker, not to the Archbishop of New York, but to Mayor Koch.

I extend my personal condolences to Mayor Koch’s sister Pat, and to his many friends and loved ones. He will have special place in my prayers, and in those of the Catholic community he loved and worked closely with, this weekend.

Here is the statement that Edward Cardinal Egan released:

STATEMENT OF EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN, ARCHBISHOP-EMERITUS, ON THE PASSING OF MAYOR KOCH

“It was with deep sadness that I learned of the passing of Mayor Ed Koch.  He has been for me a good friend and wise counselor every since my earliest years in New York as an Auxiliary Bishop to John Cardinal O’Connor.  Just a few weeks ago, I visited the Mayor in the hospital.  He was at his lively and humorous best.  Mayor Koch was clearly one of New York’s greatest.  I will remember him in my prayers with much affection.”

-30-

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Our Precious Catholic Schools

January 30th, 2013

It’s Catholic Schools’ Week.

With what we’ve just been through, some might think that we’d more appropriately observe it the week of All Souls’ Day, or Memorial Day, both occasions when we remember the dead!

Last week’s sad closings could lead some to conclude that our beloved Catholic Schools are dying, or, to repeat the term I’ve used before, that our excellent schools are in hospice, a terminal patient we’re just trying to keep comfortable until they pass away.

Not so!

Jesus observed that a vine must be pruned if it is to continue providing good fruit.

Our precious Catholic schools are a vine that produces exquisite fruit: the best academics; a safe, secure, loving, disciplined atmosphere; an emphasis on faith, virtue, and character.

This vine must be pruned. This hurts. To be blunt, if we did not close some of our splendid schools now, pretty soon we’d be close to shutting them all down.

The schools we now have, after the somber decision to close the twenty-four last week, will be fuller, even better, and more financially sound. Thus, please God, we should not have any more long lists of closings in the future.

Thus, our schools are not in hospice, but in the recovery room, with a future filled with health, vitality, confidence, quality, and hope.

This hardly takes away the sting from the children, teachers, parents, priests, and parishioners of the schools that have to close, all of which, by the way, were first rate schools. They didn’t have to close because they were academically inferior — quite the contrary — but because they were at low enrollment, and were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. In fact, last year alone the archdiocese gave these schools $8,323,689 just to stay open. We don’t have that kind of money!

Thanks to all those who now mourn, who struggled so hard to keep their good schools going.

Not that our schools are just a business. Not so! None of them make money! If we only kept schools open which were in the black, we’d have none.

Our parishes, benefactors, and the archdiocese will always have to — and want to — support our schools. It’s just that we have to use the money of God’s people wisely, not on schools that are losing children every year, and show no signs of financial stability, or an increase in enrollment.

And there’s our main challenge: to increase enrollment! Each of the schools that grimly have to close could have remained open if more parents had sent their children there.

And, we must re-double our efforts to make sure we follow through on our pledge to provide a Catholic education to any child who seeks one, particularly those whose schools will close in June. We have placement counselors available in all the regions of the archdiocese, ready and eager to assist parents in learning about the other schools in their area, so that they can make the best choice for their children. What’s important, these counselors will remind the parents, is not that their child attend Catholic school in a particular building, but that their child attend a Catholic school, particularly one that looks forward to welcoming new students (and they all do), that has high academic standards and a record of achievement (and they all do), and provides a solid formation in the faith (and they all better!). Two years ago, when we had our first round of school closings, nearly two-thirds of the children were re-enrolled in other nearby Catholic schools. Not bad, especially when you consider that in the past we were happy if we got 50% to move to another Catholic school. With experience, we’re hoping to do even better this time around.

Why would Catholic parents not send their children to a Catholic school? Beats me. But, we better find out.

Remember the days of waiting lists and jammed classrooms? What happened?

One hears an abundance of replies: Catholic schools cost too much; the public schools in my area aren’t that bad; the school in my parish is hardly Catholic at all. Add to that our society’s de-emphasis of religion, and the decimation of the intact Catholic culture of five decades ago, and I guess we have a buffet of reasons.

Yet, the fact remains: in academic excellence, preparation for life, and formation in the faith, for all their worries, nobody does it better than Catholic schools.

Pardon the cliché, but that’s why we want to change the mourning into morning.

Our strategy is clear:

. . . Catholic schools are our “pearl of great price”;

. . . we will struggle and sacrifice not only to see that they survive but that they flourish;

. . . to do so, we can’t do “business as usual”;

. . . our system of Catholic schools may be a bit leaner than before, but it is stonger;

. . . every Catholic, every parish, must support a school;

. . . our schools will remain A+, accessible, and, affordable.

Happy Catholic Schools’ Week!

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The New York Post Celebrates Catholic Schools

January 28th, 2013

As we begin National Catholic Schools Week, I’d like to share with you a wonderful editorial published by the New York Post today on our beloved Catholic schools.

In short, the Big Apple’s Catholic schools are doing the job so many public schools are failing to do, and doing it at a much lower cost. Here’s just one comparison: The average cost per pupil for an elementary student in a Catholic school is $6,800 per year. By contrast, taxpayers pay $6,900 just to bus a kid to public school.

Plainly, the 105,398 students in our Catholic schools (about 10 percent of the public-school population) benefit mightily from the education they receive. This, after all, is a system that boasts two alums on the Supreme Court: Justices Antonin Scalia (Xavier Prep in Manhattan) and Sonia Sotomayor (Blessed Sacrament and Cardinal Spellman in The Bronx).

The Catholic schools are also a bargain for New York taxpayers. Multiply those 105,000 students by the city’s average spending per pupil, and the savings easily hit $2 billion a year.

Read the rest here.

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Celebration of Saint Marianne Cope

January 24th, 2013

In addition to my reflection on Tuesday, I thought you might like to read a copy of the homily delivered by Bishop Silva of Honolulu at the canonization celebration of Saint Marianne Cope.

Saint Marianne Cope of Molokai

Photo courtesy of Sisters of St. Francis

Homily of the Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu for the Post-Canonization Celebration of Saint Marianne Cope, O.S.F.

Saturday, January 12, 2013 – Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii

Saturday of the Week between Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord

She was a rising star. This young woman who had matured so well because she cared for her family as a young bread winner was excitedly welcomed by the Sisters of St. Francis. This young Sister shone so brightly that she was quickly tapped to be a mentor to the novices. Within just a few years this rising star was placed in charge of schools, and she shone in her founding of two New York hospitals. Her brilliance was the cutting edge of healthcare in her time. Her light caught the eye of her Franciscan Sisters, and they elected her their Superior.

The light of stars does not shine on just some small part of the earth, and so when a letter came from a far away island kingdom asking for Sisters to serve the sick, others could only see their own stretched resources in the midst of so many needs in their little corners of the world. But this rising star named Mother Marianne knew instinctively that the best stars lead to journeys of adventure and great discovery. And so this rising star from the East travelled with six Sisters to these tiny dots of land in the vast Pacific Ocean, to Hawaii Nei.

Even here this rising star quickly changed the darkness, neglect, and filth of a warehouse for the rejected into a place of light, dignity, and joy. The eyes of a king and queen sparkled with the light of Mother Marianne, and they noted her brilliance with a star of honor, the Royal Medal of Kapiolani.

Yet this rising star that was Mother Marianne Cope was very well aware of St. John’s admonition to beware of idols.  She knew that her light was a created light whose only purpose was to lead others to the true and uncreated light. She knew that her light was a mere guiding star to the merciful healing brilliance of Christ, and that day by day he would grow greater as she became smaller, ever narrowing her world. Her move from the great expansive State of New York to the little obscure islands of Hawaii, from the capitol city of Honolulu to the dead-end nowhere of Kalaupapa, was symbolic of her light becoming smaller so that Christ could become greater. She was hungry for this work that few others would even consider doing, because she daily had her own hunger satisfied by the living Bread come down from heaven.

Mother Marianne was not just a star that flashed in the heavens long ago, but she has now been fixed as a heavenly light for all time, so that she can continue to shine on Christ wherever he may be found. From her place in heaven she leads us on an exciting pilgrimage to the most unlikely places to encounter Jesus. She knew the story of his being found in a stinking stable, and therefore did not find it odd to find Jesus in a place reeking with the decay of diseased bodies.  She believed the story of his being cruelly confined to a rough-hewn cross, with many wishing that he would just disappear, and therefore found Jesus in those who had been cruelly confined, with the hope that they would soon disappear, on this rough cross of Kalaupapa.  She took part every day in the memorial of Christ’s rising from the dead, and therefore she was able to bring so much life and joy to this place of the living dead.  She, who directed others as their Superior, knew that her greatest joy was in submitting herself to Christ.  Saint Marianne’s light shines on Christ, the all powerful God who has made himself so little for us.  Her brilliant light leads to Him who is the Light of the World, and so this rising star is happily dimmed in the presence of the source of all light.

In these days when we quarantine God so that we will not be contaminated by the contagion of his commandments, we so much need a light that will guide us to break open the frontiers of fear.  At this time when little people are disposable because they are hidden away in the darkness of a womb, we need a star to show us that no matter how difficult life may become in caring for them, no one is disposable.  In these days when we make ourselves ever greater and dim the light of truth, we need a strong star that knows how to be absorbed into the Great Light, to become dimmer in oneself, so that the Light of the World can become even brighter.  We thank God for sending this star to us, for setting her forever in the firmament of heaven, and for making her our living lesson that making ourselves smaller and more obscure brightens the world all the more with the light of Jesus Christ our Lord.  We thank God for Saint Marianne Cope!

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World Communications Day

January 24th, 2013

For the 47th World Communications Day, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI offered his message on spreading the word of God through social media.

Here is the full text:

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 47th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY

“Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization.”

[Sunday, 12 May 2013]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As the 2013 World Communications Day draws near, I would like to offer you some reflections on an increasingly important reality regarding the way in which people today communicate among themselves. I wish to consider the development of digital social networks which are helping to create a new “agora”, an open public square in which people share ideas, information and opinions, and in which new relationships and forms of community can come into being.

These spaces, when engaged in a wise and balanced way, help to foster forms of dialogue and debate which, if conducted respectfully and with concern for privacy, responsibility and truthfulness, can reinforce the bonds of unity between individuals and effectively promote the harmony of the human family. The exchange of information can become true communication, links ripen into friendships, and connections facilitate communion. If the networks are called to realize this great potential, the people involved in them must make an effort to be authentic since, in these spaces, it is not only ideas and information that are shared, but ultimately our very selves.

The development of social networks calls for commitment: people are engaged in building relationships and making friends, in looking for answers to their questions and being entertained, but also in finding intellectual stimulation and sharing knowledge and know-how. The networks are increasingly becoming part of the very fabric of society, inasmuch as they bring people together on the basis of these fundamental needs. Social networks are thus nourished by aspirations rooted in the human heart.

The culture of social networks and the changes in the means and styles of communication pose demanding challenges to those who want to speak about truth and values. Often, as is also the case with other means of social communication, the significance and effectiveness of the various forms of expression appear to be determined more by their popularity than by their intrinsic importance and value. Popularity, for its part, is often linked to celebrity or to strategies of persuasion rather than to the logic of argumentation. At times the gentle voice of reason can be overwhelmed by the din of excessive information and it fails to attract attention which is given instead to those who express themselves in a more persuasive manner. The social media thus need the commitment of all who are conscious of the value of dialogue, reasoned debate and logical argumentation; of people who strive to cultivate forms of discourse and expression which appeal to the noblest aspirations of those engaged in the communication process. Dialogue and debate can also flourish and grow when we converse with and take seriously people whose ideas are different from our own. “Given the reality of cultural diversity, people need not only to accept the existence of the culture of others, but also to aspire to be enriched by it and to offer to it whatever they possess that is good, true and beautiful” (Address at the Meeting with the World of Culture, Bélem, Lisbon, 12 May 2010).

The challenge facing social networks is how to be truly inclusive: thus they will benefit from the full participation of believers who desire to share the message of Jesus and the values of human dignity which his teaching promotes. Believers are increasingly aware that, unless the Good News is made known also in the digital world, it may be absent in the experience of many people for whom this existential space is important. The digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual world, but is part of the daily experience of many people, especially the young. Social networks are the result of human interaction, but for their part they also reshape the dynamics of communication which builds relationships: a considered understanding of this environment is therefore the prerequisite for a significant presence there.

The ability to employ the new languages is required, not just to keep up with the times, but precisely in order to enable the infinite richness of the Gospel to find forms of expression capable of reaching the minds and hearts of all. In the digital environment the written word is often accompanied by images and sounds. Effective communication, as in the parables of Jesus, must involve the imagination and the affectivity of those we wish to invite to an encounter with the mystery of God’s love. Besides, we know that Christian tradition has always been rich in signs and symbols: I think for example of the Cross, icons, images of the Virgin Mary, Christmas cribs, stained-glass windows and pictures in our churches. A significant part of mankind’s artistic heritage has been created by artists and musicians who sought to express the truths of the faith.

In social networks, believers show their authenticity by sharing the profound source of their hope and joy: faith in the merciful and loving God revealed in Christ Jesus. This sharing consists not only in the explicit expression of their faith, but also in their witness, in the way in which they communicate “choices, preferences and judgements that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically” (Message for the 2011 World Communications Day). A particularly significant way of offering such witness will be through a willingness to give oneself to others by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence. The growing dialogue in social networks about faith and belief confirms the importance and relevance of religion in public debate and in the life of society.

For those who have accepted the gift of faith with an open heart, the most radical response to mankind’s questions about love, truth and the meaning of life – questions certainly not absent from social networks – are found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is natural for those who have faith to desire to share it, respectfully and tactfully, with those they meet in the digital forum. Ultimately, however, if our efforts to share the Gospel bring forth good fruit, it is always because of the power of the word of God itself to touch hearts, prior to any of our own efforts. Trust in the power of God’s work must always be greater than any confidence we place in human means. In the digital environment, too, where it is easy for heated and divisive voices to be raised and where sensationalism can at times prevail, we are called to attentive discernment. Let us recall in this regard that Elijah recognized the voice of God not in the great and strong wind, not in the earthquake or the fire, but in “a still, small voice” (1 Kg 19:11-12). We need to trust in the fact that the basic human desire to love and to be loved, and to find meaning and truth – a desire which God himself has placed in the heart of every man and woman – keeps our contemporaries ever open to what Blessed Cardinal Newman called the “kindly light” of faith.

Social networks, as well as being a means of evangelization, can also be a factor in human development. As an example, in some geographical and cultural contexts where Christians feel isolated, social networks can reinforce their sense of real unity with the worldwide community of believers. The networks facilitate the sharing of spiritual and liturgical resources, helping people to pray with a greater sense of closeness to those who share the same faith. An authentic and interactive engagement with the questions and the doubts of those who are distant from the faith should make us feel the need to nourish, by prayer and reflection, our faith in the presence of God as well as our practical charity: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1).

In the digital world there are social networks which offer our contemporaries opportunities for prayer, meditation and sharing the word of God. But these networks can also open the door to other dimensions of faith. Many people are actually discovering, precisely thanks to a contact initially made online, the importance of direct encounters, experiences of community and even pilgrimage, elements which are always important in the journey of faith. In our effort to make the Gospel present in the digital world, we can invite people to come together for prayer or liturgical celebrations in specific places such as churches and chapels. There should be no lack of coherence or unity in the expression of our faith and witness to the Gospel in whatever reality we are called to live, whether physical or digital. When we are present to others, in any way at all, we are called to make known the love of God to the furthest ends of the earth.

I pray that God’s Spirit will accompany you and enlighten you always, and I cordially impart my blessing to all of you, that you may be true heralds and witnesses of the Gospel. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15).

From the Vatican, 24 January 2013, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales.

BENEDICTUS XVI

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Jesus, His Church and “the uns”

January 22nd, 2013

Tomorrow, January 23, is the first feast day for the newly canonized Saint Marianne Cope. I wrote this reflection while I was in Molokai last week.

“The uns . . .”

George Higgins — the legendary “labor priest” from Chicago was, if I recall correctly, the first person I ever heard use that expression, yet he attributed it to the future — God willing — saint, Dorothy Day.

I borrowed it in my brief concluding remarks and prayer at last October’s Al Smith Dinner, as I praised God for the Church’s lookout for the uns — the un-documented, un-employed, un-housed, un-fed, un-healthy, un-born, un-wanted, misunderstood, un-justly treated — and prayed that our beloved country might work for a culture where that dreaded prefix — un — might be no longer.

It was, of course, Jesus who embraced the uns, namely, us, the unsaved!

And He had a particularly tender spot in His most Sacred Heart for those suffering folks that society called “the un-clean,” the dreaded lepers!

This posting was written in Molokai, in the Hawaiian Islands.  The thoughtful shepherd there, Bishop Larry Silva, kindly invited me to the local celebration of Saint Marianne Cope, newly canonized, who came here 125 years ago, from New York State, as Mother Marianne, to care for these “un-clean” on Molokai.  (Her feast day is tomorrow, January 23.)

Here she joined the legendary Saint Damien of Molokai at his “colony” on a secluded, segregated corner of the island, in embracing those with Hansen’s Disease.  She did it, Saint Marianne wrote, because Jesus did it, and because Saint Francis, the patron of her religious congregation, did it.

She and her sisters not only ministered to these dreaded misunderstood uns; they identified with them. Saint Damien did so to such an extent that he became a leper, literally.  It was Mother Marianne who nursed him as he died, who made him the sling for his ulcerated, decaying arm that we see in his final photographs.

Jesus and His Church are always on the side of the uns.

About five years ago, I travelled to India to visit our Catholic Relief Services workers.  There we had lunch with a radiant group of sisters, all Indian, and their 200 or so students, all girls from about six to twelve.  The girls lived there and went to school.  But our CRS guide told us the sisters were in deep trouble.  Some of them had already been arrested, even put in jail.  Why?

“Because these little girls are Delats, what the culture here used to call “un-touchables.”  The powerful people here are threatened that, once these girls are educated, they will no longer stay around for positions of servitude.  One of the women from the established families even asked, ‘If these girls are educated, who will bring us our tea?’  Thus, the sisters are considered disruptive and threatening.”

Jesus and His Church are always on the side of the uns.

Three years ago, the bishop of the United States went-to-bat for the uns, the unborn baby and the undocumented immigrant, who were left uncovered in legislation bishops had promoted for nine decades, the Affordable Health Care Act.

Next week every parish in the archdiocese will have its second annual food drive for the unfed of our communities, and over four thousand of our people, mostly young, will March for Life for the unborn this Friday in D.C.

One of the nicest compliments we bishops of New York ever got, in my four years here, anyway, came from Governor Andrew Cuomo when we met with him in Albany in March, 2011.

We had spoken to him of the concerns of the Catholic community of the state.  When we had said our piece, the governor commented.

 “Bishops, most of the time, people come to see me about an agenda to advance their own interests.  For the last twenty minutes, I’ve heard you speak on behalf of people who can really not help you much — the prisoners, the sick, the homeless, the unborn, the elderly, the immigrant.  I might disagree with you on a number of issues, but I’m proud of my Church for speaking-up on behalf of those most people don’t . . .

 “For as long as you did it for the uns, you did it for me . . . “

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In Memoriam: Stan Musial

January 22nd, 2013

Stan Musial, a great American baseball player and wonderful Catholic, passed away this weekend. May he rest in peace!

I would like to share with you a blog post I wrote about him last year.

 

An Inspiration to Generations

One of the Christmas gifts I received was the recent biography, Stan Musial, by veteran sportswriter George Vecsey.

On the morning it was announced that the Holy Father had nominated me a cardinal, one of the journalists at the press conference in front of the Christmas crib in St. Patrick’s Cathedral asked if I had ever “wanted to be a cardinal.”

“Yes,” I readily replied.  “When I was six years old.  I wanted to be Stan Musial!”

Stan, of course, is one of the greatest baseball players ever, to this day the most renowned of my beloved hometown St. Louis Cardinals.  He is “the Man.”  As a kid, I idolized him.

In fact, one of the most memorable moments in my life came when I was ten.  Dad, my brother, Bob, and I had gone to Lambert Airport in St. Louis to meet my grandma, just returning from a vacation up here to New York.

And who do we see walking through the huge terminal?  “The Man!”  “Dad,” I exclaimed.  “Is that Stan?”  He was so famous, a first name was all it took.

“It is!”  Dad replied.  “Go over and say hello.”

Sure enough, Bob and I did.

“Hi Stan,” we blurted out.

“The Man” looked at us.  “Whaddaya say, sluggers?”

Never forgotten it.  I was ten foot tall.

Anyway, the biography was enjoyable.  I noticed, though, that a reviewer panned it, commenting that it was somewhat “boring,” since Stan’s life, while jam-packed with phenomenal baseball achievements, was free from scandal and controversy!

Stan Musial

Alleluia!  A great man!  A superb athlete!  Married seven decades to his beloved Lil; proud father; committed Catholic (he readily admits one of the highpoints of his life was getting to know his fellow Pole, Blessed John Paul II); never missed Sunday Mass; no steroids or drugs; no brawls, enemies, or DUI.  Just a gentleman, day-in-day-out reliable, never complaining or demanding; no controversy or foul language.

And one of the best baseball players ever, an inspiration to generations, whose very name stands for integrity, professionalism, loyalty, and championship.  If that’s “boring,” bottle it and sell it.

We need more Stan Musials.  He makes me proud to be a “cardinal.”

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